Abstract
In this study, we have tried to prepare porous Al2TiO5 ceramics with potato starch as a pore-forming agent at relatively low sintering temperatures by reactive sintering method using fine-grained starting materials. α-Al2O3 powder (0.1 µm) and TiO2 rutile powder (2 µm) were wet-ball milled in ethanol for 2 h in a planetary ball-mill. The mixed powder was blended with 5–30 wt % of potato starch powder in an agate mortar with ethanol. Green samples with no binder were sintered at 1300–1500°C for 2 h in air. The sample contained finer closed pores (<1 µm) as well as the larger pores (5–80 µm). The finer microstructure formation can be explained by (1) the local heating effect via the combustion of potato starch, and (2) water vapor-assisted effect.
